Cleveland Indians will abandon Chief Wahoo logo in 2019

Major League Baseball commissioner Robert Manfred announced Monday that the Cleveland Indians will remove the Chief Wahoo logo from their uniforms after the 2018 season.

“Major League Baseball is committed to building a culture of diversity and inclusion throughout the game,” Manfred said in a news release. “Over the past year, we encouraged dialogue with the Indians organization about the club’s use of the Chief Wahoo logo. During our constructive conversations, (Indians owner) Paul Dolan made clear that there are fans who have a longstanding attachment to the logo and its place in the history of the team.

“Nonetheless, the club ultimately agreed with my position that the logo is no longer appropriate for on-field use in Major League Baseball, and I appreciate Mr. Dolan’s acknowledgement that removing it from the on-field uniform by the start of the 2019 season is the right course.”

The New York Times was first to report the story.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer outlined the history of the Chief Wahoo logo. A charter member of the American League, Cleveland has been known as the Indians since 1915 and started using the Chief Wahoo logo on uniforms since 1947, according to the newspaper.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer added “the Block C and script Indians will be the team’s main logos after 2018.”

The Indians aren’t the only professional sports franchise to use a nickname or logo in reference to Native Americans.

There’s the Atlanta Braves in MLB, the Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Redskins in the NFL, and the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL.

Washington’s nickname, in particular, has drawn controversy over the years with the Washington Post detailing its history in a May 2016 story.

In 2005, the NCAA allowed Florida State University to keep the Seminoles nickname after FSU received support from the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, according to stories in The Palm Beach Post, USA Today and New York Times.

Florida State, Braves and Chiefs fans perform the tomahawk chop during games. They also sing a warchant song when performing the chop.

Locally, Southeast High uses the Seminoles nickname. When it comes to high schools choosing nicknames and logos, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) does not govern them.

“The FHSAA does not govern the selection of school nicknames, logos or mascots for its memberships,” the FHSAA said in an email statement. “Those decisions are made at the local school and school district level.”

The decision to leave it up to local school or school districts isn’t abnormal. Other state associations have the same policy. Those include Alabama, Kansas, Arizona, Utah and Maryland to name a few.

This story was originally published January 29, 2018 at 4:44 PM with the headline "Cleveland Indians will abandon Chief Wahoo logo in 2019."